Photo Collage Idea – Coffee Table Upcycling -Revamp

See an opportunity to upcycle your old furniture with this great photo collage idea.

I love pictures but rarely print them out so I thought it would be nice to have more pictures of the family displayed around the house.

I really like my coffee table, it is simple, I bought from Ikea years ago and overtime the table top suffered wear and tear and has blistered in some areas as you can see on pictures below:

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Taking a closer look the paint has lifted, exposing the mdf under….

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As the only issue with the table is the top, I decided to recover and crate a photo collage instead of buying a new coffee table. It is also an “excuse” or let me say, another “opportunity” to use the so versatile decoupage technique that I enjoy and do some upcycling.

I think technology is good but sometimes we rely on it to much. In recent years we are uploading all our pictures and precious moments online. We do not print as before or keep paper albums; things that sometimes the new generation don’t even know it exists or did not have the pleasure to gather together with family and friends and spend hours going through all albums which are unfortunately, moments of the past.

I love technology, don’t get me wrong!! but I miss these “family time” moments with my granny…

Well, let’s be happy and transform these memories into something unique which would hopefully be an opportunity to get these moments back into our “Tech life” in a different way.

I will describe how I done below and there is a video at the end of this post.

Measuring the Coffee Table:

I am using foam board to add the photo collage. As the foam board is smaller than the table we need to use two foam boards. So I need to find the middle measurement of my coffee table.

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Measuring the Foam Boards:

I am cutting two parts at same size to cover the table.

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Using a cutting board as we didn’t want to damage the table more than it was already…

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Cutting the foam board with a craft knife and using a ruler and keep craft knife straight.

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Now we have to pieces of foam board which will cover the table perfectly:

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I will add the boards with duck tape so I can bend to make it easy to work on it when doing the photo collage and decoupage. I will be also able to store if later I decide to change it for something else.

Adding a duck tape to the foam boards:

I put some magazines to hold it in place.

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Applying the duck tape.

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Now I can bend it as planned!

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Foam Boards Frames:

The frame foam boards will be around the table and in the middle which will sustain a toughen glass that I just ordered.

It will be easy to move around and remove the board as I did not attach the pictures straight on the table. I can make another board or create something different under the glass if I decide in the future.

Just measuring the board frames that will go on top of the board to sustain the glass top.

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The frame boards are 3.5 cm wider and the length is the same as the coffee table length.

Cut 4 frames for the outside (around the table) and 2 for the inside.

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Choosing the Photos:

I chose my favourite photos and I print in a ink jet printer (normal paper) and I tear off using my hands around the boards instead of using a scissor.

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Time to Decoupage:

Spread Mod Podge on the board and behind the photo. Place it on the board and stick the picture smoothly, Take care and avoid making wrinkles or bubbles, so do not rush it. Enjoy the process.

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After that, spread Mod Podge on the top of the photo and around covering the whole picture specially around the boards.

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Adding photos as which covering the boards. It is OK if the pictures goes over the marking board as it will be covered with a foam frame.

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I carefully placed the board on to the table top then I applied small dabs of glue to all four corners of the table to prevent the board from moving.

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Adding the Foam Board frames:

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I applied glue to the foam board to secure the boarders.

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Adding the Toughen Glass:

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I ordered toughen glass because it is stronger and safer.

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Now I gently placed the glass on the top.

Result: Coffee Table Decoupage with Photos

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Maybe this project it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I like the idea to have my pictures displayed on my coffee table. I think it is also a chance to remember the best moments we had and to attract even more of these times.

Let’s give a chance to the Universe to bring more amazing moments in our lives as we will be looking at these pictures every day in our sitting room, so it’s just a little push to focus our minds in good things!

“thoughts become things, if you see in your mind, you will hold it in your hands” (Bob Proctor)